Paros walking holiday, Greece
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We, and our Paros route manager Lambros, know a great deal about the Mediterranean plants and plant communities (Lambros is particularly good on edible wild greens!), and the fragility of the ecosystem, and have researched the island's geomorphology; we are committed to sharing this knowledge with our guests both in the self-guided notes and when we lead groups.
In planning routes, we have opened up paths and old routes that had fallen into disuse and virtually disappeared and aim to involve the island's permanent residents and local authorities with their continued use and upkeep. We will continue to publicise the island's initiatives, such as the use of solar and wind power, the environmental park, and new methods of land-use, such as viticulture on exposed hillsides. We are passionate about clearing any rubbish found in the countryside. Our self-guided notes include a countryside code geared to the local environment, and explain the need to conserve water. Our guests are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles and avoid the use of plastic bottles and bags. We do what we can to encourage sustainable practices among the taverna and pension owners we use, such as requesting that they do not change sheets on a daily basis if our guests are staying two or three days.
Community
We have hired a local schoolteacher, Lambros Hatsilarkos, to be our guide/route manager because of his deep knowledge of the island landscape, of wild plants, and Mediterranean farming traditions. He is widely known on the island (including by his former pupils), and has personally recommended many of the local services we use, such as taxis, pensions and tavernas.
Most tourism on Paros is focused on the coast and during July and August. Our walks/hikes go from village to village, and deep into the countryside, bringing business to country tavernas and small hotels and extending their season into spring and autumn. We keep up-to-date with developments within the local communities and our customers informed to promote understanding of island life, especially in the current economic climate. For example, in our newsletter we reported that since 2007, numbers involved in agriculture in the southern Aegean region have increased by over 20%, and well over half of them are young people.
We aim to share the routes we have opened up with the island's permanent residents, and involve their help in keeping them clear and used again. We contribute to the community newspaper Paros Life and support Parosweb. We recommend wine, honey and other local products and where they can be tasted and bought, and encourage our guests to extend their holiday, and suggest visits to the environmental park and bird sanctuary, and agro-tourism enterprises.
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